HARfeS AiJt) kABBITS. J! 21 



terrestrial. Whereas, however, the majority are inhabitants of 

 open fields, and produce furred and active young, the Rabbit 

 and the Hispid Hare are peculiar in dwelling in burrows and 

 giving birth to naked and helpless offspring. By far the great 

 majority of the species are confined to the temperate regions 

 of the Northern Hemisphere. 



I. THE COMMON HARE. LEPUS EUROPCEUS. 



ZeJ)us eurojfceus, Pallas, Nov. Spec. Glirlum, p. 30 (1778). 

 Lepis tiinidus (nee Linn.), Bell, British Quadrupeds, 2nd ed. p. 

 331 (1874). 



{Plate XXVII.) 



Characters. — Size large ; hind-limbs and ears very long, the 

 latter exceeding the head in length ; tail nearly as long as the 

 head ; general colour of the upper-parts tawny-grey, more or 

 less tinged with rufous ; under-parts white ; ears tipped with 

 black j tail black above and white beneath. Length of head 

 and body about 21^ inches; of tail, 3^ inches; of ear, 

 3I inches. 



Although the fur of the English Hare is usually of the 

 colour mentioned above, there is considerable variation in this 

 respect, depending upon the age of the animal, the season of 

 the year, and locality, while there are also individual differences. 

 As a rule, in Britain, the Hare becomes of a more pure grey in 

 winter, while in more northern regions it tends to white at the 

 same season. Leverets are more rufous than adult individuals; 

 and in the south of Europe the prevailing colour tends to 

 yellowish-red. Individuals occasionally assume a paler tint 

 than usual, and sometimes resemble a Rabbit in colour; while 

 very rarely black Hares have been met with. 



As regards the general external form of the Hare, it may be 

 added that the body is large, compressed, and deep ; the neck 

 very short ; the head of moderate size, convex above, ancj 



